Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane

The Cathedral of St. Stephen is one of the cornerstones in the history of the Catholic community of Brisbane. The cathedral was built between 1864 and 1922, with extensions made in 1989. In 1859 with the separation of Queensland, the Archdiocese of Brisbane was created with James Quinn as the first bishop. It was Quinn who planned to construct a large cathedral to accommodate a growing congregation and on the Feast of St Stephen (26 December) in 1863 he laid the foundation stone for a grand cathedral designed by Benjamin Backhouse. The original design by Backhouse was changed and downsized numerous times over the course of the cathedral's completion, mainly due to economic reasons.

Description

St Stephens is a gothic revival cathedral with a cruciform shape in plan. While this is a plain cathedral by comparison it still has a selection of striking features such as the spire topped sandstone towers, imported stain glass windows from Munich, the organ, the altar, and the newer Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the rear of the building. The cathedral is made predominantly of Brisbane tuff or porphyry and freestone. The Blessed sacrament chapel however is made from reinforced concrete and the restored spires from glass reinforced concrete.

Restoration and Refurbishment

By the 1980's the cathedral had fallen into a state of disrepair. In addition to this the interior layout of the building was unsuitable for the new Catholic liturgy. It was decided that the Cathedral and its grounds would undergo major refurbishment which would involve preserving the fabric of the building but replacing all furnishings and interior fittings. As part of the refurbishment the Cathedral grounds were enlarged and a carpark was built under the extended east end of the Cathedral. The last stage of the Cathedral restoration was completed in 2000 when the Jubilee Pipe Organ was installed above the sanctuary.

Other Buildings on the Site

In addition to the Cathedral, the site bounded by Elizabeth Charlotte and Edward Streets contains numerous buildings that support the Cathedral and the Archdiocese of Brisbane.

St. Stephen's Chapel stands immediately to the South of the Cathedral. The chapel was designed by Pugin and was the first Cathedral.

Old St. Stephen's School is a three level building facing Charlotte Street. This building was the location of St. Stephen's School until the 1960's. The building now contains offices for the Archdiocese of Brisbane.

The Francis Rush Centre was completed in July 2005. The two story building is the location for the Cathedral administration Centre, the offices of the Bishops, the Choir Room and several function and meeting rooms. A new under cover, outdoor liturgical space was constructed as part of this development and facilitates special liturgies such as the Easter vigil and Palm Sunday.

Interior Quality

Inside the cathedral the stained glass windows are vividly illuminated by the sun and cast colored patterns on the floor and walls. Some of them are small with intimate pictures of Christ and his followers, while the humungous window over the main door stands tall and proud as it depicts Christ's Ascension, then casts its majesty down the length of the great space. The lightweight plaster ceilings arc gracefully overhead. There is a noted contrast between the interior and exterior qualities of space. The interior always has a cool, refreshing quality.

Music

The Cathedral currently has three choirs. The current Cathedral Choir was formed in 1970 and is an all male choir in the tradition of the Cathedrals of Europe. The choir sings at the 10:00am mass every Sunday except during the June/July and September holidays, and January. In addition to this weekly commitment the choir also sings at most major events at the Cathedral including Easter, Christmas and ordinations.

The Choir has enjoyed high standards throughout its thirty year history during which it has made numerous recordings. The most recent of these was of traditional Christmas carols and is currently available on the itunes store.

In addition to the Cathedral Choir the Cathedral also has a chamber ensemle called The Schola of the Cathedral of St. Stephen. This group was formed as part of the restructuring of the Cathedral music department in 2000 and is fully proffesional. The Schola sings at the 12:00am mass every Sunday and augments the Cathedral Choir at major events. The Schola recently released its first CD.

The Cathedral also has a community choir of approximately 20 voices called St. Stephen's Chorale. The Chorale sings at the 12:00am mass once a month.

References

All historical data such as dates and significant individuals were obtained from the Heritage Register on the Queensland Governments, Environmental Protection Agencies website [1] Accessed on the 17. Aug. 2006